Naruto The Next Generation NTNG
by Emfgar
Summary: Aproximately 12 years after the Akatsuki's defeat, the return of the sixth Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha, and the death of Hinata Hyuga our story takes place. Find out the story of the Next Generation of Naruto Characters!
1. Episode One and Two

**Episode One**

My name is Jiraya Uzimaki. I'm the grandson of the fourth Hokage, and the son of the sixth Hokage Naruto Uzimaki! After my mother Hinata Hyuga died giving birth to me, my father left to try and grieve the loss. He left me in the charge of my Uncle Neji, and since then my ninja training has been left up to him.

With my father gone, Konohamaru, grandson of the third Hokage became the new leader of the village. He has helped repair the village from the damage that the Akatsuki wrought and repair the relationship of Konoha with the rest of the world. He has began to host the Chunin exams in Konoha, even though the Lazy-Kage complains about all the paper work.

Since graduating the Academy this year, I have been assigned a part of the re-organized team seven! Since Kakashi-sensei retired from being a team leader, my uncle Neji volunteered to take over control of the team. My partners consist of Itachi Uchiha, son of Sasuke and Sakura. He says that he was named after his hero uncle, though I think he's just full of himself. Then there is Kinnda. She's really pretty, but kind of scary. She's always trying to pick fights with me and Itachi.

I'm twelve years old, and better yet, the chunin exam is just a few days away! I've been looking forward to this moment, and studying really hard... Well I've been eating ramen, but who needs to study! Anyway, I'm determined to pass the chunin exams and become a great ninja like my father, BELIEVE IT!

Jiraya sat with his back against a wall," Dang it sensei! Where are you?" He grumbled kicking a stone across the street.

It bounced and hit the food vendor on the other side. The man glared at Jiraya, who suddenly had a look of innocence. The man sat tapping his foot as if waiting for something and slowly Jiraya looked up to make eye contact. He was about to say something when he received a firm smack to the back of the head. He stumbled forward and landed with his face in the dirt.

"I apologize for my student, he has obviously not learned respect for others yet, I will be sure to take several hours to teach him this principle."

Jiraya didn't have to look up, he knew who it was," Neji sensei I didn't-"he would have said more but his face got pushed back in the dirt by Kinnda's foot.

"Sorry I'm late Neji sensei! Where is Itachi and Jiraya?" Kinnda said looking around.

Itachi stepped from the shadows," I've been waiting for some time now and as for Jiraya..." He pointed down and Kinnda followed his finger. She gasped and stepped off of Jiraya's head." Jiraya-kun I'm so sorry!"

Jiraya grumbled as he slowly stood up and Neji sighed. "We have a lot of work to do if you three are going to be part of the chunin exams. As a result I have a special training session prepared for you three." He looked at them, "I got the idea from Kakashi-sensei, who was so kind as to let me borrow his practices." He pointed in the direction of the training grounds."Now let's go!"

The three students quickly agreed and raced off to the course. When they arrived, all of them except Itachi, were panting for breath, Neji pulled two bells from the confines of his robe. He looked at them, his face straight and serious as always, a look that Jiraya knew all too well. The three students' snapped their gaze to the two dangling bells. Neji then attached them to his white waist sash.

"This was the same exercise that Kakashi preformed with the original team seven. It showed the basic principles of being a ninja." He said plainly, his usual flat voice stern and focused as usual. "As newly graduated genin, you must learn these principles as well."

Itachi crossed his arms and glared back at his sensei, "But we've already been taught all of those. This is such a waste of time!"

Kinnda whipped a glare towards Itachi, "If Neji-sensei says it will help then you shouldn't be arguing!"

Neji raised a hand and silenced them both, "Unlike all your other training exercises, this exercise will place you against a more difficult opponent." He adopted his gentle fist stance. "In this exercise, your opponent will be me."

Jiraya gulped, "You Neji sensei? But what happens if we hurt you? Or you hurt us?" He knew the later was more a possibility and thought about the rigorous training that he and Neji already did at home.

Neji nodded, "It is indeed dangerous, but those that you will be facing in the chunin exams could be more dangerous than even me. You must be ready for all that might come at you!" The bells jingled in a slight breeze." Now then, you must attack as though you plan on killing me, if you don't, you will fail."

Kinnda tilted her head in confusion, "Wait Neji-sensei... What are we supposed to do? Are we just meant to fight you?"

Neji faltered for a second. He had completely forgotten to explain the full exercise and he smiled at his own fault. "I'm sorry, I nearly forgot. You will each try and get a bell from me, and I will repel you with attacks."

Kinnda again chimed in," But, sensei... There are only two bells?"

Neji's face became stern, "You are right Kinnda, one of you will fail this test."

"So what if we fail, it's just a stupid test!" Itachi mocked.

"If you fail, I will send you back to the academy." suddenly all three students were paying attention.

"Y-you can't be serious Neji-sama!" Jiraya blurted out.

Neji nodded, "I am serious Jiraya. I will be sending one of you back to the academy. The chunin exam and the life of a ninja is dangerous. If you cannot stand up against me, then you are not ready to become a ninja."

Kinnda and Jiraya looked at each other and nodded, but just as they were about to look at Itachi for support they realized he had already charged in. Itachi was fast, but not as fast a Neji who had already activated his Byakugan. The young student dodged Neji's fist and was about to land an upper cut, when his master brought his knee hard into Itachi's stomach. The young genin gasped out in pain, and Neji grabbed him by the collar and tossed him. Itachi smacked against the ground and Neji shook his head.

"You all must work as a team." Neji coached as Itachi slowly raised himself off the ground. "As you know, this is the first ninja principle of Tia-Jutsu. More plainly put it is physical combat."

Neji ran forward and launched a flat palm against Jiraya. Jiraya activated is Byakugan and went to block the attack, but before he could Kinnda pulled him out of the way. He was about to thank her when she continued to spin and threw him into Neji, effectively using Jiraya as a weapon.

Neji disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving the three alone. Jiraya gathered himself and glared at Kinnda who simply frowned.

"I missed," she pouted and Itachi walked back to them.

"He used a substitution technique; he probably knew that was coming." He said pointing to the log that Jiraya had made contact with.

Jiraya nodded. "so that means that he has moved onto ninjutsu or genjutsu?" He shuddered. "We may be in for some serious pain pretty quick here if he has."

No sooner had he said so, Jiraya sensed a big amount of chakra coming their way. He ducked and jumped out of the way, but the others weren't so lucky. They were blasted backwards by Neji's Eight Trigrams empty palm technique. Both Itachi and Kindda went flying, but this time Itachi was ready. Mid air he flipped and landed on his feet.

"Not going to knock me down twice sensei!" he yelled, "Sharingan!"

Neji grunted and stood perfectly still as Itachi placed his flattened palm to the ground. What did his little prodigy have up his sleeve? His eyes widened as he saw a flash of chakra rush to Itachi's hand. The child's mouth formed a grin as his hand began to ignite into flames and a high pitch squeaking began. The young genin then dragged his hand backwards and absorbed the earth around it. It glowed a brilliant mixture of red and orange, and it appeared as if the chakra was taking on the form of fire.

"This is a technique I developed all on my own sensei!" Itachi lunged forward at lightning speed, using the Sharingan to increase he reflexes, "Fire Chidori!"

Neji eyes widened more as he rushed to dodge the attack. As Itachi's hand hit the ground where Neji had been only seconds before a large blast of fire erupted from the contact point in a dome shape. The heat singed Neji's eye brows and left his eyes sore and red. It was a powerful attack for such a young student, and Neji silently cursed himself for not thinking of the possibility of such a jutsu. After all, Itachi was the son of Sasuke.

Before he knew what was going on he felt three gentle strikes against his back. Jiraya was hitting chakra points. Neji spun out and kicked Jiraya square in the chest sending the child flying backwards into a tree. Again he was surprised, Jiraya had managed to sneak up on him, even with Neji's Byakugan active. Only his own student would know how to fully utilize the Byakugan's week point.

"Don't forget about me sensei!" Kinnda yelled as she threw her weight into a punch.

Neji caught her fist and threw her into an oncoming Itachi, but on contact she burst into smoke and Itachi pushed a wood log off himself. Neji ducked as a lightning charged foot flew over his head. Kinnda was quick and her use of tai-ninjutsu was impressive. Neji then utilized the eight trigrams palms heavenly spin. Kinnda was sent flying and Neji stood firm in place.

"Close," he said trying to be encouraging. "But I still have the bells." At that moment Jiraya laughed lightly.

Neji had almost been right. Jiraya lifted a small bell, "Correction sensei. You have one of the bells."

Neji quickly looked down to his sash and realized that he was indeed missing one bell. He thought back to Jiraya's surprise attack, and the few attacks on his chakra points Jiraya had hit. That must have been when he grabbed a bell. Neji smiled, he was impressed.

No one in the original team 7 had managed to get a single bell from Kakashi sensei, but then again they had not fully worked as a team either. His students were already very capable, and he was proud of them. He grabbed the last bell on his sash. There was still one principle they needed to fight against, and this one was new, even to Neji.

"Congratulations Jiraya, you have passed, but there is still one more ninja art. The art of Genjutsu."

Jiraya looked puzzled for a moment. He had never actually seen Neji use any kind of Genjutsu. He stood up, using the tree he had been knocked into as a support. Whatever his Uncle had in store he needed to be ready.

Neji looked around at his students, and slowly closed his eyes. Itachi saw this as an opening and rushed forward, kunai drawn. Kinnda followed Itachi's lead and charged her fist filled with electrical chakra. Only Jiraya stood back and braced himself for what might be coming, and he would watch in shock at what happened next.

Neji opened his eyes and the veins stretching from his Byakugan pulsed. He muttered something but before the sound could register, Itachi planted his kunai into his teachers arm and grabbed the final bell. He then pushed off his sensei's chest and landed with the bell in hand. He smiled and turned to Kinnda.

"It looks as if you're the one who's going back to the academy Kin-" he stopped when he noticed that Kinnda had dropped to the ground. He walked over to her, "Kinnda?" he questioned as he reached out to her. She turned to face him, but her face had melted, and as she started to groan in agony she melted completely. Itachi pulled back in shock and turned to Neji. He was about to say something when Neji melted as well. Itachi watched as the scenery melted away and soon his was left in complete darkness. His heart raced and as he turned he saw his father Sasuke in front of him. He backed up, surprised to see his father in such a place.

"How can you call yourself an Uchiha," Sasuke questioned, and before Itachi could answer Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan activated. "You do not deserve that name, or the name of my brother!"

Itachi stood, his mouth wide open. "I-I'm sorry father!" Before he could respond though, his father had faded away.

Jiraya watched as his two team mates were caught in the genjutsu. They stood perfectly still and their eyes were glazed over. Jiraya guessed that it was a new technique and wondered what his comrades were going through. Neji began to turn his gaze to Jiraya, and Jiraya immediately turned his gaze downward. If he got caught in the genjutsu there was nothing he could do for his team mates. He had to think, and fast.

"There will be times, where your allies are incapacitated Jiraya, and the unexpected will happen. You will need to know what to do." Neji slowly began to advance towards Jiraya. His new genjutsu took a lot of focus, and he needed to make sure that it stayed in place. As a result he would be limited in his fighting capabilities.

Jiraya got an idea, but it was risky. He would have to time it perfectly if he was to succeed. Suddenly Jiraya charged full tilt towards Jiraya. Jiraya heard the rapid footsteps and activated his plan. He used eight trigrams palms heavenly spin, to keep his master at a short distance and just as his technique ended and Neji lunged forward with a punch Jiraya burst into smoke.

Neji turned in surprise when he realized it had been a shadow clone, and behind him his young protégée was releasing his genjutsu captives. A now aware Itachi, and Kinnda slowly shook off the effects of the genjutsu and looked thankfully at Jiraya. They rose and turned to face their sensei.

Neji smiled and tossed the second bell to the ground. He wondered if Kakashi had ever had this much trouble during the test. The three students now stood confused, and Neji slowly regained his stern face, "The test is over." he stated.

The three genin looked at each other, " What do you mean over?" The chimed in unison.

Neji folded his arms inside his Kimono and closed his eyes. "This test was to prove to me that you three are capable of working as a team. In the Chunin exams, you will have moments where your individual strength will be tested," He opened his eyes slowly, letting what he had said sink in before continuing, "But you must also work as a team to succeed. You must help each other, and watch out for one another if you wish to see success."

The three genin looked at one another now, and realized that they had only managed to do so well thanks to one another's strengths. Kinnda smiled at Jiraya who in turn smiled back. They both went to smile at Itachi who simply rolled his eyes, and they chuckled.

Neji unfolded his arms and began walking towards the edge of the training ground. "Now then how about we go get something to eat."

Jiraya grabbed his stomach as he growled, "Can we make it Ichiraku?" he asked.

Neji nodded, "Whatever the three of you want. It's on me!"

TBC...

**Episode Two**

Konohamaru stood at the main gate of Konoha and sighed. Today was the day of the chunin exams and Moegi and Udon, his advisers, said that it would be a good idea to meet each Genin team as they approached the village. This however meant that he would have to stand by the gate all day, to make sure no-one was missed. The Hokage looked up to the sky and frowned at the sight of clear skies. Usually this wouldn't be a bad thing, but Konoha had been going through a heat wave lately, and with not even a breeze to cool him off Konohamaru was sweating up a storm.

"Something Konohamaru-kun?" Moegi asked as she happened to glance over at him.

He smiled, "Oh no, just fine," he turned away from her, "if I was a Camel!"

Udon pushed his glasses up his nose, "I hope they get here soon! With all the applications that came in it's bound to be a big crowd!"

No sooner had Udon spoke Moegi spied the first team in the distance. She smiled and waved to the far off figures. The figures waved back and as they approached Konohamaru cocked his head in slight puzzlement.

Takumi Village had always been known to produce some of the finest weaponry, but it had stopped producing ninja near the end of the second shinobi war. Since then it had simply just taken orders for products from the other ninja villages, but there now stood three fine young men all bearing the Takumi symbol on their forehead protectors.

The one on the left stood very tall, and almost stood at height with Konohamaru. He was covered in red armor from head to toe, and carried a large shield with a gem implanted in the center of it. His headband was hung around his neck and looked somewhat out of place on the behemoth.

The one on the right was almost in complete opposite. He was half the size, though not the smallest, and wore a skin tight outfit, with only a little give around his unmentionables. He wore deep tinted goggles, and across his back there was a sword, with an elegant handle crafted from the most unique metal Konohamaru had ever seen. His head band had been shortened into an arm band and he wore it on his left arm.

The middle one was indeed curious, as well as the smallest. He had white hair and stood a little less than half of Konohamaru's height. The boy didn't appear as well built as the largest one, but his muscles were deeply toned, and on his back he carried a large metal container with a cork stopper in it. He also appeared to be carrying someone else, which meant the boy must have had considerable strength. The two stopped at the gate, but the middle one advanced directly in front of the Hokage.

"Hello little one." Konohamaru greeted, as the boy lifted his head and smiled, his head band gleaming in the sun. "I take it you're here for the chunin exams?"

The boy nodded and gently lowered himself so the man on his back could get off. Konohamaru was again surprised to see a rickety old man slide from the boys back, his fragile form garbed in robes, and a straw hat upon his head. The man had to lean heavily on a wooden staff, which had his head band dangling from it's top.

"My name is Umi Kawa! And I'm these young one's elder chunin!" Umi said, his voice having a slight whistle in it.

Konohamaru forced a smile, "You mean... You're a chunin?" he asked, a large amount of doubt and question in his voice.

"Yeup! Youngest of my age to return from Akagahara back in the good old days! I was six back then I believe!" The old man grinned a near toothless grin before reaching into the confines of his robes and pulling out a dusty old piece of parchment. "Here's my proof too!" He said as he handed the document to Konohamaru.

The Hokage opened it and read it carefully, and when he was finished he stood with a weak smile. "Well it appears you are a chunin after all... In that case here is your pass." He motioned to Udon who gave the pass to Umi.

The old man again grinned as he slowly climbed back onto the boys back, and soon the four of them were walking into Konoha. Konohamaru chuckled, if this was what the competition was like, it was going to be an interesting exam!

One by one the contestants showed up. It seemed this year that all the villages had found a way to enter the exam. Even the smallest villages seemed to enter at least one team. By the day's end Konohamaru had seen nearly sixty teams pass by him, but strangely there was still two missing. He had received a notice stating that Sunagakure, would be entering two teams. Neither of them though had passed through the gates. He frowned, perhaps they had decided not to participate after all.

"Well Konohamaru, we should probably head in. It is getting late after all." Moegi instructed.

Udon let out a loud yawn, "After all, the first exam starts tomorrow, and you're gonna have to keep track of who passes and who fails".

Konohamaru took a final look out of the gates. "Alright." he said as he turned, after all he had a big day tomorrow as well.

Jiraya sat waiting in the genin waiting area. There seemed to be ninja from all different kinds of villages here, and some of them looked pretty tough. He gulped and wiped his brow with his sleeve. He could do this, after all he had been taught by Neji-sensei, one of the most well respected ninja in Konoha. Suddenly he felt someone bump into him. He whipped around to see a young looking genin from the cloud village standing behind him. The boy looked frightened, and Jiraya immediately tried to look not so tense.

"Hi there," He said to the fellow genin, in as soothing a tone as possible.

The young genin looked back and made a half smile, "Oh... ummm h-hello." The boy replied, his voice nearly a whisper.

Jiraya stretched out a hand, "My name is Jiraya Uzimaki, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The young genin looked at the hand and cautiously took it. "M-mines Nao." His voice barely audible.

"Nao, that's a ni-"

"Get lost kid." Itachi interrupted his voice hard and stern.

The young genin wasted no time and fled in a hurry and Jiraya glared over at Itachi. "You didn't have to be so mean, the poor guy seemed scared." Jiraya scolded.

Itachi just folded his arms," Jiraya these are opponents, not friends. We'll have to fight most of them, and we'll most likely be responsible for a lot of their eliminations. As such we shouldn't be fraternising with them. If you want to talk, try to find out about their weaknesses, other than that don't waste your time."

Jiraya continued to glare at Itachi, and would have continued fighting when suddenly he heard the voice of the Lazy-Kage. It would appear that the first part of the chunin exam would be starting soon, and Jiraya was both eager and slightly afraid to hear what challenge awaited him. Kinnda seemed to be thinking the same thing, and Jiraya was relieved to see her nervous face. It meant he wasn't the only one.

The Lazy-kage stood on the top of a large building, and his voice echoed down to the excited genin below, "Hello Genin and the future chunin's of the world! I am the Hokage, Konohamaru! As you may be well aware the chunin exam will take place in three parts! The first challenge will be a written test!"

A few groans and moans of disappointment rang out through the genin. Konohamaru just smiled, he was glad he didn't have to take the test again. It was then that another Iconic figure from Konoha stepped forward his face still hidden in shadow. Konohamaru made a sideways glance at him.

"You're late." he said, a slight bit of sarcasm in his voice.

The old grey haired ninja just smiled, "sorry, I was helping an old lady cross the street and-"

Konohamaru just shook his head, how had he expected anymore, "I will now entrust you to a ninja of great fame and prestige. Son of Konoha's white fang, and the original team leader of the famous team seven! Kakashi Hatake!"

Kakashi stepped from the shadows, both of his eyes visible. Kakashi possessed a sharingan in one eye, and his other was starting to fade in colour as the effects of old age slowly began to take their effect. Though he was mostly blind at this point he was still well respected and Konohamaru knew that Kakashi was the perfect choice to lead the first exam.

Kakashi's voice was serious and commanded a certain level of respect, "My name is Kakashi Hatake! Inside the building below us in room 202 the first part of the chunin exam will take place!" He bowed slightly. "I shall be waiting inside for you all!" and with that he burst into a puff of smoke.

The Genin below all awed at the simple display, and Konohamaru chuckled. Kakashi had definitely been the right choice for this job! He looked down at the stunned genin and raised his hand. The genin looked up and in a booming voice Konohamaru yelled out.

"LET THE EXAM BEGIN!"

The class room was large, much larger then Shissuo had expected. So much had changed in the hundred years his body had laid dormant, and the abilities of the human race were so much more advanced now. He wondered for a moment if he would still be able to destroy the village with such technology present. He shook his head slightly, these were still the scum allies of the uchiha, and as such he could not fail in his task!

Suddenly a female ninja bumped into him and Shissou turned to see who had dared to touch him. She was charging some kind of electric attack, and he could see the anger in her green eyes.

"What's the deal pal!" she yelled, her fist charging with electricity.

He was about to respond with force when Kyoshi stepped in between the two. The blind ninja was always trying to keep him out of trouble, and he would object, but there was something different about her. She stood about a head smaller than him, even in her heals, and wore her brown hair in a pony tail.

"Please pardon my partner, I'm sure he would apologize, but unfortunately he's mute." Kyoshi explained.

Kinnda let the charge in her fist dissipate slightly, "Well you waterfall ninja should be more careful and watch your step!"

Kyoshi smiled, "I would, but my eyes... " She waved her hand in front of her face," They don't work."

Kinnda stood ashamed of her words, but Itachi chuckled, "So the Waterfall sent the blind and the mute. This years exam should be easier then I expected."

Shissuo glared over at Itachi. There was still an Uchiha in Konoha, and his only thought turned to that of revenge. He was about to do something when Enmu placed a hand on Shissuo shoulder. Enmu had blond spiky hair and a sharp shark tooth smile. His family had once been members of the mist but had fled when the country had become known as the blood Mist village. His sharp ice blue eyes seemed to add to his sharp rigid face.

"Yeah, yeah very funny Uchiha, we'll see how tough you are later in the exam." He pulled Kyoshi and Shissuo to their seats. "They're not worth our time, not now any way. We'll get our chance to fight with them later." he whispered before going and taking his own seat.

Shissuo just stared at the front of the class. When the time was right he would make sure to make the Uchiha suffer for his comments and that purple haired brat as well. He would make this entire village pay for their actions in the past, no matter what the cost.

Kakashi glanced around at the students, and waited until they were all seated before continuing. He then called to the chunin on the outside of the room. They saturated themselves throughout the room and stared stone faced at the chunin.

Kakashi then smiled, "These chunin's will be making sure that you don't cheat and will be watching your every move. Those who are caught cheating will be failed and disqualified from the chunin exam." The genin nodded in agreement, and Kakashi picked up a stack of test booklets. "Alright I'll hand out the test now, and you will have one hour to complete the test."

The small Artisan ninja was the first to receive the test and one by one the rest of the students' receive theirs. Most of the genin went white at their first glance of the test, and as soon as Kakashi had returned to the front of the room the little Artisan ninja raised his hand.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Sorry but I'll not be answering any questions for the duration of the test." The Genin in the room all gulped. They now realized that they were alone, but the Artisan still smiled and kept his hand raised.

"But Kakashi-sama, I do not wish to ask a question."

Kakashi sat puzzled, "Then what is it?"

"I'm done."

The genin in the room looked down at their papers again. The questions on the test were more complicated than anything they could have ever known, and yet this little ninja was done? Even Kakashi was surprised and walked over to check the little ninja's test. He stood shocked; every question had been answered perfectly, and in such short time. He glanced over at the chunin who just shrugged back to him. That meant he hadn't even cheated, or attempted to. He had actually known the answers. Kakashi took the test and smiled to the young genin.

"It would appear that you're the first person to finish the test then." and with that Kakashi took the test and returned to his seat and began reading his book.

Jiraya gulped at the difficulty of the test. Even with Neji's harsh training he only knew the answer to a handful of the questions. He shook his head slightly, this was way too difficult, there had to be a catch. Sure the Artisan had been able to answer them without aid, but there had to be more then met the eye.

He pondered the situation, until he caught on. He could see two genin in the room that were far older than the rest. He guessed that they might not be regular genin and used his byakugan silently to confirm his assumption. It was indeed true, both genin seemed to posses greater chakra control then the majority of the class. He theorized that they must already be chunin, and more than likely had the answers to the test, but why then was cheating so heavily monitored? It must have been some kind of test of their stealth. Jiraya smiled, he had this one rapped up. He used the Byakugan's sight to see the chunin's test answers.

Jiraya had finally caught on, and Itachi sighed in relief. Perhaps the Hyuga weren't such a useless clan after all. It was then though that he noticed Kinnda. She was staring blankly at her test. Itachi ground his teeth, she was so useless! He closed his eyes and prayed that she would eventually get it and find a way to pass, more for her sake then his own.

Kinnda was lost, utterly lost! The questions were so hard, and apparently they were answerable! Otherwise how would that little snot at the front of class answer them? She looked up at the clock, and realized that she only had a few minutes left. She hung her head in shame and gave up. There was no more hope and as the final seconds of the clock ran out she expected a fail, but instead Kakashi smiled.

"You all pass, very interesting!" The entire class looked at Kakashi with puzzlement. "Perhaps I should explain. You see this test was meant to see if you could use stealth to avoid detection. As shinobi your art of stealth is very important, you must never let your enemy know your true motives, position, or goals."

The class nodded and were about to cheer when Kakashi silenced them. His eyes were again stern. The class stared with intensity as the grey hair ninja spoke.

"There is one final question though before you completely pass. Should you fail to fail this question the consequences are dire!" His eye became cold and unforgiving. "Should you fail to answer this question, you will fail out right, and NEVER be allowed to participate in another chunin exam again. You will be recorded as a failure!" He raised a finger. "But that is not all. Failure for you will also hold the same fate for your team."

The genin sat, open mouthed in shock. Some muttered to one another and others began to cry or panic. Kinnda looked at Jiraya and Itachi, they were doomed. She held back a few nervous tears and waited for failure.

"There is one hope though, those who leave now will only take a regular fail and will be allowed to come back next year."

Kinnda looked up, there was still hope. Perhaps if she pulled out now they could try again next year and she could get some tutoring from Jiraya and Neji. Twenty students rose from their seats, apologized to their team, and then began leaving. Kinnda was determined to save her team from a massive failure. She rose from her seat as the last team exited, and Kakashi looked at her.

"I take it you're walking out then?" He asked her and Kinnda looked to Jiraya and Itachi.

Jiraya shook his head at her, urging her to continue, while Itachi's were cold and unforgiving. If she quit now her team would only be disappointed in her, and if she failed they would hate her as well. What could she do? She was doomed either way, and she was so scared of what to do. She looked Kakashi in the eyes, his stare constant and void of emotion. Could she really give up?

Before she could say anything Itachi raised and yelled out an answer, "She's not quitting," he then shot a glare back at Kinnda, who just shot a glance to the ground. "Now sit down Kinnda!" She frowned and nodded.

Kakashi waited until she was seated before again smiling, "And again you all pass." The remaining teams again shot Kakashi a confused glance. "The final question was a test of confidence in yourself and team." He glanced at Kinnda, whose gaze was still to the ground. "Obviously some of you needed help from your team, and hopefully you can grow to be confident on your own as well as in a team." He folded his arms and tilted his head, "Congratulations all of you!"


	2. Episode Three

They had passed, and Jiraya sighed in relief. Kakashi smiled as he sat back down. The remaining students in the room were smiling and high fived each other with a look of gratification and triumph. Kakashi raised his hand to silence everyone, and he looked over at the clock in the room. He was late, and Kakashi was actually kind of surprised. It wasn't like him to miss out on something like this.

Suddenly A mighty call came from outside and Kakashi smiled at the voice. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Yelled the voice and as Kakashi looked over at the window Might Gai came flying through the wall nearby. Kakashi frowned, that was definitely Gai for you.

Gai looked around the room at the various students who looked shocked at his entrance. He smiled, and the sun glinted of his dazzling smile. The students now sat with a sceptic look drawn on their faces. This of course didn't phase the ninja in the green jumpsuit as he continued to speak.

"Hello there potential Chunin of the ninja world! I am the Famous Might Gai, but you may call me the Handsome Leaf of Konoha!"

At this Jiraya noticed Light Ray sigh and frown. Ray was one of Lee's distant relatives, and though he had been assigned to Lee-sensai's team, he was not accustomed, nor proud of Gai's or Lee's extensive enthusiasm. Gai didn't even take notice of Ray's disappointment or embarrassment over the matter.

"I will be your instructor through the next phase of your exam!" Gai continued, and the students leaned in to pay attention. "Your next exam will be slightly different then previous years, and is sure to test your very strength as a functioning ninja team! It will take place at the forest of death, in exactly five minutes! If you fail to show up for the de-briefing, you will be disqualified! I take it you all know where the forest is?"

Kakashi suddenly remembered what he'd forgotten. "Actually Gai... I forgot to show them where it was."

Gai shot Kakashi a wicked glare, "Behind as always Kakashi! It would appear old age has effected more than just your vision!"

Kakashi pondered the statement for a second. "Actually you were late as well... so it would appear I'm not the only one age is effecting."

Gai's face became that of horror, "W-well that's not the point Kakashi! These students need to know where the forest is! So show them the map already!"

Kakashi smiled, "Of course." He lowered a map down from the top of the black board at the front of the class. The map was that of Konoha, and circled on the far side of the city was an area that the genin had been told was off limits.

Jiraya was puzzled. He has been told that the forest was too dangerous for genin, as it was home to all matter of creatures and poisonous plants. He gulped at the thought. Were they really meant to go there for a simple exam? What happened if someone died! Before he could continue his thought process of all the horrible fates that awaited him Gai cut in.

"Alright now that Kakashi has finally revealed the location it is upto you all to meet me at the front gate of the forest! Now then, I'll meet you there!" And with that Gai jumped out the window and began running full tilt across roof tops.

The ninja in the class room sat puzzled for a second and Kakashi watched as the second hand began to tick away time, "Now you only have 4 minutes and 30 seconds left." He said calmly and no sooner had he pointed it out, the class emptied. He smiled, it was time to read his book.

Itachi scowled as Kinnda slipped and fell to the ground. He lept off the building and landed beside her. She didn't raise her head and as Jiraya landed behind her she mumbled something under her breath. Itachi continued to glare, his silence saying everything that was on his mind. He turned and began walking in the direction of the forest.

Jiraya approached Kinnda and offered a hand but she refused it. She simply rose and began walking after Itachi. He frowned; the rest of this exam was going to be difficult. He shook his head, at the thought of failure. After all, Neji had taught him that negative thought lead to negative outcome. He was in-charge of his own destiny, and he would make sure he succeeded and became a chunin! More so, he would keep his team together, and make sure they all passed, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Team seven walked up to the gate just as it was beginning to close. They ran in and as they did the gate slammed shut behind them. Itachi didn't say anything but Jiraya could tell he was disappointed they hadn't made it there first. Jiraya once again looked around at the other genin that made it past the first exam.

The Artisan team, one Waterfall teams, seven Grass teams, seven Heat-Haze team, three Leaf teams, four spring team, one Cloud team, six moon teams, six Star teams, and four Mist teams were still in the competition. Jiraya was surprised at that most of the great ninja villages had been eliminated, but then again this year did seem harder.

Gai smiled and looked at the few remaining teams. "Well, well! It looks like we're in for some fun times! Alright everyone I will now explain the first part of the second part of the chunin exams!" He nodded and a few leaf shinobi brought forward a crate filled with scrolls. "Inside this crate there are scrolls. They will be marked with your villages symbol and team name or number. Attached to each scroll there is also a map! Read the map and take your scroll there! Once there you must open your scroll!" Gai raised a continary finger. "Now the order of what I said is important! Should you open your scroll early you will fail! Only once you have made it to your target area will you open the scroll!"

Itachi scoffed, this was going to be too easy. He walked forward and grabbed the leaf village scroll marked with the number 7. He walked back to the team and tossed it to Kinnda, who looked surprised at the sudden recognition. Jiraya raised an eyebrow and stared at Itachi. Even though Kinnda seemed honoured to be trusted with the scroll Jiraya could guess why he had given it to her. Itachi was planning on him and Jiraya doing the fighting and keeping Kinnda in the back where, in Itachi's mind, she couldn't cause any trouble.

"Where are we heading Kinnda?" Itachi's voice was stern and Kinnda immediately opened the map and began looking for a destination.

"It looks as though the center of the forest, apparently near some sort of tower."

Itachi seemed puzzled and Jiraya pointed his observation out, "What's wrong Itachi?" He asked, trying to figure out what had confused the Uchiha.

"My mother told me stories of her first chunin exam and the forest of death. Apparently they were only supposed to make it to the center of the forest. This must mean that there is going to be some sort of unique twist."

Jiraya nodded, "As Lazy as he is I wouldn't put it past the lazy-kage to come up with some wild scheme like that."

Kinnda rolled the map up and put it into one her pouches, "Well no matter we'll just have to make it there fast and find out what the twist is before everyone else."

The three nodded and as they did so Might Gai pointed towards the heavens, "Alright young spirited Genin, I hereby declare the second part of this test started! GO!" He dropped his arm and the gates to the forest flew open. Genin began running in hurriedly, and Jiraya, Itachi and Kinnda were no exceptions.

They had been travelling for only a few minutes when Itachi saw something. He stopped on a tree branch and motioned the others to stop as well. Jiraya seemed confused, but then again the young Hyuga always seemed puzzled by something. Itachi motioned to Jiraya to activate his Byakugan. Not wanting to cause a fight, and slightly curious as to what Itachi was reacting to, Jiraya did so and scanned the area.

Only a few meters off was another team of ninja, and it appeared that they were attempting to open their scroll. Jiraya now knew what Itachi was interested in. They were gathering information about the challenge. He smiled and watched as the genin in the distance slowly began opening the three seals on their scroll.

Kinnda shifted her wait and looked bored, what were those two looking at? What could be so interesting that they had to stop in the middle of their mission? She found herself pouting slightly. Of course she would have to be on a team whose eyes gave them special abilities, and she would be the odd one out. Even their sensai had special eyes. Kinnda closed her eyes and imagined having Orange eyes that shot lightning and fire and allowed her to fly. How much easier it must be with an ocular kekkei-genkei.

Suddenly a loud scream went flying through the forest and Kinnda's eyes snapped open. Itachi and Jiraya now looked very concerned and Kinnda gulped slightly. Whatever they had been looking at apparently didn't end well.

"What happened? What is it?" She asked nervously.

Itachi glanced over at Kinnda, his Sharingan activated. "Get down." He demanded.

Kinnda stood confused, "What?"

Itachi wouldn't repeat himself instead he pushed Jiraya out of the way and dove into kinnda knocking her flat on her back. He would also take two kunai to his back. Kinnda would have asked a question but she was left breathless from what she saw from over Itachi's shoulder. A man in an ANBU mask jumped from the forest ground and drew a small sword from his back. He was about to attack when Jiraya jumped in and used the eight trigrams palms heavenly spin to push the attacker away from them.

The attacker spun in the air and landed perfectly on his feet on a nearby tree branch, "Give me your scroll and you may pass." He said, his voice stern and harsh.

Itachi rose slowly and pulled the Kunai from his back. "Yeah right, like we'd give up that easily." He smirked and nodded to Jiraya who nodded back.

"Very well, then I will eliminate you myself!" The man charged forward again, with quick speed, but Jiraya's Byakugan allowed him to keep up.

He dogged the man's first strike and used the Byakugan Three Strikes technique to push his opponent into the waiting Itachi who let loose a devastating fire release: great fire ball technique.

The man went flying backwards and landed on the side of a tree, where he attempted to push off and launch another tai jutsu assault. Itachi waited until the last second before flipping onto his back and grabbing the man's shirt. He then planted a foot into the man's chest and rolled back wards so that the man was under his foot. He pushed off hard and as he rose into the air itachi reached into his pouch and removed a vial of oil. He quickly flung the oil into his mouth before activating the fire release: flame bullet technique.

Before the man could move he was hit with a large oily fire ball and as the smoked cleared the three genin watch to see if their attacks were successful. The man had indeed been hit and in a few seconds he burst into ink. Jiraya and Itachi seemed relieved, but Kinnda was stilled confused. She turned to her comrades and then back to the pile of ink that had once been their opponent.

"He was created from opening the scroll." Jiraya answered her question without needing to hear it. "We saw a team of genin from the Heat Haze village opening their scroll, so we decided to watch. Apparently when we open the scroll early that happens." He then motioned to the pile of ink.

Itachi frowned, "We need to make up for some lost time, I don't want to be the last one to their destination again." Jiraya sighed before both he and Kinnda agreed.

A few hours later they could see the tip of the tower through the trees. They were definitely getting close, but things were about to get hairy again. Several kunai flew out the bushes and Itachi, Kinnda and Jiraya quickly jumped out of the way. Another assult? Jiraya was starting to see why this forest was known as the forest of death.

Three genin stepped from the shadows, all wearing Star village headbands. "Hand over your scroll," They demanded, and Itachi stepped forward to speak.

"What happen? You open yours to early as well? Just looking to get another one so you don't fail?"

The three genin all looked at one another and began laughing, "You idiots obviously haven't reached your destination yet. Well no need for you to get there, just hand over the scroll and we won't rough you up."

Kinnda took a step forward but before she could do or say anything Itachi raised his hand to silence her. "If a fight is what you're looking for then why not make it a simple one vs one. That way I don't have to rough up your entire team too badly."

The genin looked at each other before the one in the middle, who appeared to be their leader stepped forward. "Nice try Uchiha, but I've heard about your freaky eye abilities. If you want to make it a one on one then why not let the little lady do some fighting?"

Jiraya snarled, "You mean you'd attack a girl? You prick! I challenge you!"

The genin in the middle looked Jiraya up and down before he grinned again. "Alright big boy, if you want to defend her so badly, then how about you fight Hugo here." The genin motioned to his team mate on his right. The ninja had a big bushy brow and a slightly slanted and drooping forehead. His muscles were not gaint, but they were very well toned, and Jiraya began regretting his decision.

Before Jiraya had a chance to retake his comment Itachi spoke out, "Very well, if Jiraya defeats this Hugo guy, you'll let us pass."

The middle genin smiled and nodded, "I can agree to that." He the motioned for Hugo to step forward and the larger genin did as he was instructed. "Make them regret ever meting the Star village Hugo." The big genin pounded on his chest like an animal before letting out a mighty roar.

Jiraya sighed, what had he gotten himself into? How was he going to fight someone so big? Would he even be able to do it? He stepped forward and took off his robe so his bare chest was visible; he wouldn't need extra clothing slowing him down for this battle.

"I'm ready when you are," Jiraya said and with that the assault began.


End file.
